


084

by Selinenuli



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Adoption, Father-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-10-14 16:00:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17511605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selinenuli/pseuds/Selinenuli
Summary: Skye had been exposed to terrigenesis when she was fifteen, which leads to her being kidnapped and rescued by two SHIELD agents. AU. Most of AoS characters would be involved.





	1. Chapter 1

\- Unknown Location -

May kicked the door open and held her gun and torch in front of her. She entered the dark room. Coulson was right behind her. To the light of their torches they could see a few tables standing in the middle of the room, papers and broken test tube scattered all over it.

"They were experimenting, that's for sure" said Coulson "but on what?"  
"On who?" corrected May, pointing at the traces of blood on the floor.

"What did Fury said this 084 was?" she asked again.  
"He didn't" said Coulson "check that room over there, I'll check this one". May nodded and moved forward the door Coulson directed her to.

They were in some abandoned labs, assuming AIM’s, send to retrieve an 084.

May kicked another door open, then stepped inside.

She could see a few prison cells in the dark. In each one there was a small bed, nothing else.

"Coulson, are you there?" May murmured into her comm "I was right, they were testing on humans".  
"Is there anyone still there?" he asked.

"I don't think so…" she whispered, still scanning the room. She stepped another step inside, and could now sense a movement in the corner.  
May turned around and raised her gun. There was a figure standing there in the dark.

"Come into the light so I could see you", ordered May.

The figure took a shaky step forward, out of the shadowed corner.  
May lowered her gun.

The girl in front of her couldn't be much older than fourteen… what was she doing in there? Thought May, than hurried towards the kid, who stepped away with eyes full of fear.

"Hey, it's alright. I wouldn't hurt you" whispered May, putting her gun away "See?"

The girl was holding her wrist close to her chest, so May guessed it must have been broken. On the girl's face there were a few scratches and bruises, and she was wearing what looked like some sort of a hospital gown.

"What's your name?" asked May carefully.

"S-Skye" answered the girl hesitantly.

May smiled at her, "Alright. My name is Melinda May. Is your wrist hurt?"  
The girl nodded.  
"Well, if you would come closer, maybe I'll be able to help with that, and also to take you somewhere safe" continued May. "I promise I won't hurt you."

Skye stepped a bit closer to May, but it was clear that she was still scared. She flinched a little when May had put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "My partner is right in the other room. We'll go find him and then get you somewhere safe. Okay?" asked May.

"'Kay" said Skye. May was able to hear the exhaustion in the kid's voice.

May raised her torch again and gently directed Skye to the room Coulson was supposed to be in. however, as they stepped through the door, Coulson thought that they might be someone from AIM and pointed his gun at them.

"Jesus May... Don’t sneak around like that"

May just rolled her eyes "your comm was off" she excused.

"May…" she turned around to see Skye still standing in the doorway. She was breathing quickly. Too quickly.

May shot Coulson one glare then hurried to the kid's side, stopping her from dropping to the ground.  
"Skye I need you to breath, alright? Just take deep breaths… in and out…"  
It took some time, but Skye was finally able to get her breathing under control. After that, she fell asleep, tired from the panic attack and the exhaustion.

May sighed, looking at Coulson.  
"Do you think she was one of the people AIM was experimenting at?" he asked after a long silence.  
"I hope not" she said, brushing the hair out of the girl's face. "She's so young".

"I know" agreed Coulson. "We better get her to SHIELD. She needs medical".

\- The Hub -

"And you're sure there were no one else there?" asked Director Fury.  
"Yes, we're sure" repeated Coulson for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Why was she there in the first place?" asked May "She's a kid, what does she have to do with AIM?"

"I'm not sure if you remember this Agent May, but you two were sent to retrieve a 084. There's a chance that the girl is the 084"

They both looked at him in disbelieve.

"Is this even possible?" Coulson was the first to talk.

Fury just raised his eyebrow.

Coulson sighed "yes, with SHIELD everything is possible, I get that. But if the girl really is the 084, how have we never heard about her before?"

"I have no idea" said Fury.

May rolled her eyes. Honestly, she just wanted this meeting to be over, so she could go and make sure Skye was alright.  
She let her thoughts wander far away while letting Coulson do all the talking part. It didn't seem like Skye had any kind of powers…

"-No! You can't do that!" shouted Coulson, pulling May out of her thoughts. She looked at them, realizing that she missed a main part of the conversion. Coulson turned over to her "He wants to send her back into the system" he explained.

May immediately stood up "You can't do that! If she has powers or something-"

"She would need help controlling her powers, if she has any-" started Coulson at the same time, but Fury raised his hand to shut them both.

"I get that you don’t like it," he said "But do you have any better idea?"

Coulson just glared at him, not saying anything.  
"I can take her" said May, surprising both Coulson and the director.

"Can you?" asked Fury, not sure what she meant.

"I can help her get some control over her powers. And she would be safe with me, AIM wouldn’t be able to get her," she said in response.

"You do realise that you wouldn’t be able to go on field assignment in that time, right?"

 

May paused. She didn’t think of that, but it didn’t matter. the kid needed help, which she could provide; Coulson surely would be able to survive a few assignments without his partner.

She nodded, seeing Coulson glaring at her in the corner of her eye. She smiled at him in recurrence.

"Fine" said Fury after a few minutes “You can take the girl. Dismissed."

Coulson followed May out of the director’s office to the medical where Skye was staying for now.

"May, where are you going to take her?" he asked.  
"My mother’s house for a start. It should be empty, and I’m sure she wouldn’t care" she answered without stopping to look at him.

“Then what?” he insisted.

“I'll help control whatever powers she’s got, protect her if needed.” and she still didn’t turn around to look at him.  
By the time Coulson finished asking questions, May already got them back to the medical unit, where Skye was staying for now.

May turned around, finally looking at Coulson. “I'm not sure it’s a good idea for you to come in”. she said hesitantly.  
Coulson frowned at that “What are you talking about?”  
May smiled sadly at him “Skye is horrified. Last time she saw you, you were pointing a gun at her. Just let me talk to her first, explain everything.”

Coulson sighed, and she walked away.

May sat down and settled in the chair next to Skye’s bed, planning on waiting there until the kid would wake up.


	2. Christmas

Skye woke up to the noise of a steady beeping.  
At first she panicked, afraid that it was just a dream and she was still in that awful place. But once she looked a bit around her, she noticed the difference. This place was warmer. Less noisy.

She flinched when she felt a hand resting on her shoulder, and quickly turned around to see the woman from earlier.

She said her name was Melinda May, remembered Skye.

“Where am I?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“SHIELD’s medical facility” said Melinda “it’s a safe place”, she added shortly after, smiling softly at Skye.

Skye nodded, still studying her surroundings.

“How do you feel?” asked May with a concerned face.

Skye shrugged “Better”.

‘Why does she even care?’ she asked herself. Instead she just said “Thanks for bringing me here”.

“You don’t have to thank me, I was doing my job” May smiled at her. “Is it okay if I ask you some questions?” she continued.

“Sure”, said Skye, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on top of them. “As long as I get to ask a few questions myself”.

"Deal" smiled May. "I need to know how you ended up in those labs".

Skye frowned "Ah… I'm not entirely sure. It's a bit dizzy."

"Just tell me what you remember" reassured her May.

"Well… I was looking for information on my family, and I found this weird organization that seemed like a good place to start with".

"You hacked AIM?" asked May in disbelieve.

Skye nodded "They were probably able to track me back that way. I remember that one of them crushed that weird crystal next to me. And the next thing I know is that I'm in a lab, being experimented." she told Melinda who looked at her – worried from the way the girl in front of her didn't show any of her emotions while talking.

And again, Skye couldn't but to wonder why this woman did even cared. After all, no one ever cared about Mary Sue Poots, not even her own parents.

Skye took a deep breath "Are you sending me back into the system?" she finally dared to ask.

May shook her head. "Absolutely not. It would be too easy for AIM to find you there"

May looked at Skye, trying to understand what the emotion on the kid's face was.

"So what's going to happened next?" asked Skye, confused.

May straightened up in her chair and said "You'll come with me, at least for the next few weeks. I can protect you if it will be needed, and maybe teach you some self-defense." She hesitates for a moment, and then asked "Is that alright with you?"

Skye looked up at her, slightly surprised. no one ever asked her if she was okay with something like that before. “Sure", she said.

Melinda smiled at her "Good. Now let's go find you some clean clothes".

Skye nodded, not saying anything more.  
____________________________  
After getting Skye clean clothes, Melinda had to go and finish the paperwork before they could go to her house.

Skye set beside her, knees up to her chest. I her head she was trying to figure out what day is it. But honestly, she had no idea.

Suddenly she felt a hand resting on her shoulder. She flinched and turned around to see the man May said was her partner standing behind her.

“Hey”, he said as he took a seat next to her. “I just wanted to apologize for scaring you earlier”.

Melinda glanced at the two from the corner of her eye.

“That’s alright” mumbled Skye.

“If you say so…” sighed Coulson, slightly concerned from how quiet the kid was.

“What date is it?” she asked suddenly.

“Au…” Coulson looked at his phone. "December 21th”.

“Oh.” Skye looked down at her hands “it’s almost Christmas”.

“Yes. You don’t like Christmas?” he asked.

Skye shrugged. “No, not really. Never had the chance to celebrate it properly”.

Melinda looked up from her paperwork and glanced at Coulson. He raised an eyebrow towards her. she put her pen down and knelt in front of Skye’s chair.

“Actually,” she said “Phil and i usually celebrate Christmas together. We would make sure you will get the full experience, if you’d like that.”

Skye hesitate for a moment, but then nodded excitedly.  
‘They seem nice, so I could at least try’ she thought to herself.

Melinda smiled at them and stood up. “Well, I finished with the paperwork. Let’s go” she said. “You too, Phil” she added when she saw he wasn’t doing any attempt to get up.

He frowned “To your mother’s house? No thank you.”

She chuckled “Oh come on… it’s not like she would actually be there.”

When Skye got up herself and followed Melinda towards the door, he realized he had no choice and hurried after them.

While in Melinda’s car, Coulson’s face darkened as he got a text from Fury. “Change of plans, Melinda. Sorry Skye, but we would have to stop at St. Agnes first.” he glanced at the back of the car as he didn’t get any answer from her.

“Why?” she asked when she saw him looking at her.

“Well officially…” Melinda started, “I'm supposed to be your foster mother.”

“They wouldn't let you take me” mumbled Skye.

“I'm sorry?” frowned Melinda.

Skye sighed “It's very rare that the nuns let a single adopt a child”.

Melinda thought for a moment, and then grinned. “I guess Phil would have to be my husband, then” she said.

Phil chuckled. “Yeah, sure.”

They drive a few more minutes at silence, until Coulson spoke. “Wait, are you serious?!”

Melinda burst into laughter. Even Skye couldn’t help but laugh.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked after a short silence.

"Doing what?" wondered Coulson.

Skye shrugged "This. Pretending to be married and my foster parents and all that. Why?"

Coulson and May's eyes locked. Then May spoke softly "No kid in the world should be alone. Especially not at Christmas." Her eyes went back to the road, but Skye could still see Coulson looking at her.

She smiled to herself. They were so much more than just partners.

“Don't worry, it would be okay.” Melinda told Skye after another short silence. “We did it before, right?” she glared at Coulson. He groaned. “Here it comes… never too long until you bring that up”.

She chuckled at him “How can I not?”

He groaned again, rubbing his eyes.

“What are you guys talking about?” asked Skye, still unable but to smile.

Melinda glanced at her from the corner of her eye. "We were undercover as a married couple. It was actually fine, until-"

"Stop!" Phil interrupted her in the middle of the sentence "there's a kid in the car". He stated.

"I'm fifteen!" protested Skye.

May turned her head to look at her for a second but both Coulson and Skye said "Eyes on the road!"

Skye smiled to herself as Phil and Melinda kept arguing.  
Sure they weren't even married, but until now it seemed like they could be pretty good parents.


	3. St. Agnes

Skye sat on a chair outside of the office at St. Agnes, waiting for Coulson and May to finish with the paperwork.

She was soooo bored.

Skye hated St. Agnes. The nuns didn’t really care for any of the children; and of course that there were bullies…  
She was lost in her own thoughts, not minding the many people passing around her. Not until an excited “Skye!” was heard to her left.  
She turned toward the voice and smiled as she saw the younger girl.

Skye had a habit to protect the younger kids from bullies the best she could, that way she ended up getting friends with them.

The young girl run to Skye and hugged her tight. “Are you going to a new foster family?” she asked into Skye’s shirt.

“Yes Robin, but they seem actually very nice, so I don’t know when I will be back”.

“Oh” Robin looked up at her “I'll miss you, but I hope you wouldn’t have to come back” she said, smiling sadly.

Skye rubbed her back “I'll send you something for Christmas”, she promised.

Robin hugged her again, and then sat next to her.

“How’s school?” asked Skye, sitting again as well.

Robin shrugged “Fine. Nothing special happened.”

Skye raised her eyebrow “no? cause I heard you got an A in art class”.

Robin smiled widely “I did! How do you even know those things?”

Skye grinned “I have my ways”.

The two girls kept talking until the office door opened and Melinda rushed outside, Phil close behind her.

Skye frowned. Melinda looked furious, so she must have seen her ridiculously large file.

Skye sighed and said goodbye to Robin, then followed them back to the car.  
____________________________  
Melinda glanced at Skye from the corner of her eye, not sure what was wrong. The girl was even more silent than before.

She sighed “Skye honey, do you mind telling us if there’s something wrong? You're awfully quiet”.

Skye mumbled, “Everything’s fine” than got back to staring out of the window.

“So why are you so quiet?” asked Phil.

Skye looked at both of them for a moment, hesitating. “You seem... upset”, she said eventually.

“Well, I am a bit upset” said Melinda. “But definitely not with you”.

“No?” asked Skye, slightly surprised.

“Of course not” said Phil.

“It’s those nuns”, continued Melinda “I wanted to punch them, almost did”.

“Really?” now Skye almost smiled. No one ever punched the nuns, especially not an adult.

“Almost” confirmed Phil “It was kind of scary” he added.

Melinda rolled her eyes.

Skye grinned at them “I would have loved to see you punch one of the nuns” she told Melinda, who laughed.

Phil smiled at them. “Well, now that we solved that matter, do you wanna tell us who your friend was?” he asked.

Skye’s eyes had lightened up a bit. “Robin? She’s eight-years-old one of my only friends. Her staying in St. Agnes supposed to be temporary, since her father died and her mother is sick” she told them, and then added “Which reminds me, I promised Robin I'll send her something for Christmas. Is that all right?”

“Sure” said Melinda “I was planning on going shopping tomorrow, anyway.”

“Cool” Skye went silent again, lost in her own thoughts.

Melinda and Phil were just so nice, and she really wanted to be able to fully trust them. But it wasn’t that simple.  
From her experience, people were never nice to her for any reason. They didn’t just ‘want to help’ or ‘be her family’. Someday she’ll do something wrong, and they’ll send her back with the excuse that she wasn’t ‘a good fit’.  
The thing is, Skye really wanted this to be real. she didn’t thought she could handle another rejection, not this time.

Skye closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm her racing mind. She was scared, she realized. Scared that Phil and Melinda would find out why AIM actually kidnapped her and turn her back to SHIELD.

She knew what SHIELD’s policy was for people like her. She would be tested again. It wouldn’t be any different from AIM’s labs. If they’d found out about what she could do…

 

Skye didn’t remember falling asleep, but she still woken up when the car stopped.

She rubbed her eyes, trying to shake off the sleepiness.  
She got out of the car and walked towards Melinda who waited for her near the house’s gate. Skye really wanted to get a better look at the house, but right now the sleep was more important to her.

When Skye followed Melinda inside, the agent directly led her to one of the bedrooms so that she could go back to sleep. Skye was still half asleep so she didn’t try to protest, though she did want to see the house. She decided she could just do it tomorrow.

Skye kicked of her shoes and collapsed on the bed, already sleeping deeply.  
Melinda smiled softly and covered the girl with a blanket.  
Now that Skye was asleep, she looked much younger in Melinda’s eyes. So small and innocent.

Phil was in the kitchen, making coffee for himself and tea for Melinda. When he was done, he put the cups on the table and looked around him. “Melinda, where are you?” he called out loud “I made you tea!”

“Be quiet!” she hissed him, coming around the corner. “Skye is asleep in my brother’s old room. It should be okay for now” she said, sipping her tea.

Phil nodded “Where am I going to sleep, then?”

“On the couch” shrugged Melinda. Phil frowned at her.

She sighed and sat down. “What’s wrong?” asked Phil, concern clearly sounds in his voice.

“I’m worried about Skye” she admitted. “She’s far too young to go through all this, and i can feel there’s something else she’s not telling me”.

Phil smiled to himself. “Try to talk to her tomorrow. I think we could all use some sleep” he said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Melinda smiled back and put her hand on his. “Good idea. I just hope my mother won’t pop out of nowhere in the middle of the night. We both know she’s capable of this”.

Phil grinned, thinking about her hand on his. She was warm, and he wanted to hug her but he didn’t think she would let him. So he let it go and had gone to sleep on the couch.  
____________________________  
Melinda laid awake in her bed, eyes wide open.  
She was tired, yes, but still didn’t manage to fall asleep.

Except for the fact that she was still worried about Skye, it was weird for her to sleep in her l old bed. It brought back some memories from her childhood, not something she wanted to think about.

‘I'll organize the room tomorrow’ she decided. Maybe it would help.

Melinda looked at her clock. It was almost midnight.

She just switched off the light when the ground beneath her suddenly started trembling. Things started to fall down the shelfs, books and so.

Melinda hurried to get out of bed and towards the room’s door. ‘What on earth could cause an earthquake like that?’ she asked herself

A\N: This story happens around 2003, before Bahrain which is suppose happened in 2007. That’s why May is a bit different than in the series.


	4. Terrigenesis

Skye saw the blue crystal crush in front of her, and everything was filled with a weird mist. She coughed. It was getting harder to breath, Suddenly she could feel a hard stone climbing up her body, covering all of her. She tried to move but it was too strong, and she couldn’t see because it was now covering her face.  
It became more and more hard to breath and all she could see was black. Panic rose inside of her, filling her with fear.

Skye wanted to cry, to scream for help, but she knew no one would come. No one ever came, not for her.

“Wake up!”

She wanted to believe this was all just a bad dream. That she would soon wake up in her bed, safe.  
But she couldn’t believe that because she never felt safe, not since she was much much younger.

“Skye!”

And suddenly she was lying on a bed, her hands cuffs to its sides. Everything was white now, but no less scary. She could feel a needle in her arm and tried to shake it off, still with no success.

“Skye, wake up!”

Skye jumped up into a sitting position, tears in her eyes.  
She flinched when she felt a hand resting on her shoulder, but then saw it was just Phil, trying to calm her down.

Everything was shaking. Skye closed her eyes and tried to make it stop, half aware of Melinda rushing into the room and telling Phil to give her more space.

Melinda kneeled in front of Skye “Skye, look at me, it’s alright, it was just a dream”. She whispered. “Just breathe, you're safe.”

Skye tried to breathe as Melinda told her to. It was easier than before. She could now see more clearly.  
Melinda had a concerned expression on her face, now sitting on the bed next to Skye.

Skye curls into a ball and waited for the shaking to stop, still crying from her nightmare. She felt Melinda rubbing circles on her back whispering “you’re alright, it was just a dream”, over and over again.

The shaking stopped, and Skye leaned against the wall in relief. She knew Melinda was still beside her, not as scared as Skye thought she would be. Why not, though?

Melinda looked at the young girl. Her eyes were red from crying, and her breathing was still heavy. She put her arm around the Skye’s shoulder and was surprised when she didn’t flinch from the touch.

“I’m so sorry” she heard her whisper. Melinda hugged her and rubbed her back. “Don't worry, it’s alright. Just go back to sleep”.

Skye shifted in her arms and shook her head. “No, it would happen again… I can’t make it stop” she sobbed.

Melinda stroked her hair. “I’m gonna stay here, I’ll wake you if something happens. It will be okay” she promised.

Slowly Skye’s eyes begin to close and she fell asleep, still in Melinda’s arms. Melinda covered her in a blanket and reassured Phil that he could go back to sleep.  
________________________  
In the morning - Skye woke up, surprised that she didn’t have another nightmare. When she took in her surroundings she found Melinda sleeping on the chair next to her bed.

Had she stayed here all night? Skye asked herself, and got out of the bed, looking around the room. It looked like a teenager’s room. It was a mess, books; video games and what looked like undone homework thrown all over the floor. When Skye looked at the date in one of the notebooks, it said 1996. Very old.

Skye turned around to see Melinda shifting in her chair, waking up.

“How do you feel?” she immediately asked Skye.

“Better” she murmurs. “Whose room was this?” she asked.

Melinda smiled softly at the girl’s curiosity “My brother. I can tell you about him later if you want, but first we need to talk”.

Skye nodded. She knew she would have to talk about it eventually - about the shaking. She sat on the bed while Melinda sat in the chair.

“What happened last night?” asks Melinda, and Skye took a deep breath before talking. “When AIM took me, one of them crushed a weird crystal next to me. After that my whole body had covered with some stone and when it broke, I was somehow… different”.

“How different?” asked Melinda.

Skye shrugged “I could make things shake, I guess. But I think there’s more than that, I just don’t know what”.

Melinda nodded, understanding. “You could have told us, you know”, she said.

Skye just shrugged again. Melinda sighed. “Fine. let’s go and eat breakfast, after that we need to go shopping. You need some new clothes.”

Skye nodded, though she didn’t understand why they would spend money on her, especially now that they knew about her weird ability.  
She followed Melinda to the kitchen, where Phil was already making pancakes. Skye Smiled. Pancakes sound good.

“Skye, did you sleep well?” Phil asked her. She nodded in response.

They ate pancakes and Melinda and Phil talked about all the things that they needed to buy for Christmas. In the end they decided that Phil would stay in the house because he had so much paperwork to do, and Melinda and Skye would do all the shopping.  
After they finished eating Melinda and Skye started to drive towards the mall.

Skye was mostly silent, so Melinda could see that something was bothering her.

“What is it?” she asked Skye, who looked at her, confused “What?”

“I can see you have questions.” Stated Melinda “Go ahead, ask”.

“And you’ll tell me the truth?” asked Skye

“Of course,” answered Melinda “as long as I get to ask some questions of my own”.

“Fair deal” smiled Skye “So what do you do, at SHIELD?”

“I’m a specialist” said Melinda. “Basically, that means more punching instead of talking and paperwork” she explained.

Skye nodded “How did you come to the job?”

Melinda took a moment to think before talking “My mother was a CIA agent, she worked with SHIELD. I learned self-defense from young age, and when I was seventeen SHIELD recruited me. And Coulson became my partner”. she said. “Work partner” she added shortly, after seeing the look on Skye’s face.

Skye just shrugged in response “if you say so”. (Not that she actually believed it).

“Can I ask a question now?” asked Melinda. Skye nodded.

“Just tell me about yourself, then. You’re going to live with me until someone says otherwise, so we should at least get to know each other” she suggested.

“Okay…” said Skye “I like music, and the sky - though that must have been obvious. I’m pretty good with computers. I hate school, but that’s probably valid to most of teenagers. Oh, and I absolutely hate shrinks. So please, don’t make talk with one”.

 

Skye didn’t like talking about herself, but she wanted Melinda to like her. So she chose her words carefully, not revealing too much but not too little.

Melinda smiled softly, looking at Skye from the corner of her eye “I promise I won’t. I don’t like them too”.

Skye smiled back “cool”.

Skye adjusted in her sit. It was hard for her, trusting people when all they ever did was letting her down. She tried, she wanted this to work. She could have a family, right?

Skye was pulled out of her thoughts when they got to the mall.  
She hated malls. Too many people, too many voices and talking. So this time she just tried to stay next to Melinda all the time, that way she won’t get lost.

When Melinda wanted to buy Skye new clothes, the kid said that she didn’t want them to spend money on her. Melinda won that argument eventually, though it took a while. They even got a Christmas present for robin - a little notebook and colorful pencils. Melinda also buys some other presents, for her parents, Phil and Skye.  
Of course she didn’t tell that to Skye, she didn’t want them to have another argument about something as foolish as this.


	5. Hacking

It was December 24th, three days after Coulson and May rescued Skye from AIM’s labs. In that time, Skye managed to trust them more. It was hard, but not impossible.  
Her nightmares kept coming back, but Melinda taught her a way to calm herself down enough for the shaking to stop. She told her to focus on a single point, let everything else become noise disappearing in the background. Skye was surprised to discover how useful it was.

The room Skye was staying in was organized and cleaned, so was Melinda’s room. Although she was still curious about Melinda’s brother, she didn’t dare to ask… yet.

Phil, on the other hand, was mainly busy with being afraid that Melinda’s mother would pop up suddenly. Skye was sure it was because he had met her before and was just scared to death - which made her wonder what kind of person she was.

To keep herself busy, Skye had mostly helped Melinda and Phil with what she could. Except for that, there wasn’t really much she could do.  
It was late evening; Phil was making dinner while Melinda was doing something super secret she won’t tell Skye about in her room. And Skye was soooo bored. She was sitting in the living room, just staring at blank space.

Suddenly there was a beeping, coming from Melinda’s laptop next to her. Skye hesitated for a moment, but then opened it and unlocked it with a few guesses.

This was a SHIELD’s computer, maybe she could use it to find more information about her past. She knew some of it was in SHIELD, she just wasn’t able to hack their system yet. But she could do this quick and quiet, without neither Phil nor Melinda finding out - right?

Skye started typing, looking in the system. She looked for files from April 26th, 1989. It was the day she was left the St. Agnes.  
And there it was… a classified file about a baby left at an orphanage. Skye opened it, but it was redacted, so she looked for the original one. SHIELD must have a copy.

As her fingers flew above the keyboard, Skye didn’t pay any attention to how much time had passed. Not until a hand suddenly closed the laptop, stopping her.

To the sight of Coulson, Skye felt panic rising within her. She’d never seen him that angry before. Without thinking she stood up and rushed over to her room, ignoring him calling her name. She locked the door from the inside and leaned against it, not even bothering to turn on the light.

Most of the families would have sent her back for something like that, if not worth. Skye really didn't want to find out what Melinda and Phil would do.

“Skye, open the door please” Called Phil again, knocking on her room's door. There was still no answer, and Melinda just came around the corner. “What happened?” she asked.

Phil shook his head “I’m not entirely sure. I think she hacked SHIELD, but run away when she saw me.”

Melinda sighed. “Okay. Just… go finish with diner or something. You probably just freaked her out”.

Phil nodded and did as she told him.

Melinda leaned against the close door of Skye’s room. She could hear her breathing heavily on the other side of it. She just stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what was she supposed to say.  
After a few moments, she said “Phil told me you hacked SHIELD. I guess… you thought the maybe you would be able to find information about your family?”

On the other side, Skye stiffened when she heard Melinda’s voice. But she didn’t sound angry, not as Skye expected her to be.

“...I understand why” continued Melinda - Skye did something wrong, yes, but she didn’t mean to do any harm “and I’m not angry about it. And I promise I would never hurt you. Alright?”  
Now Melinda could hear a quiet sob from the inside “If you want, you can keep looking for your family through my computer, under my supervision. I’m not angry with you about what you did, just… don’t do it again, ‘kay?”  
Honestly, Melinda had no idea what to say. She didn’t have much experience with children, and she definitely had no idea what she was getting into when she volunteered to take care of Skye. She didn’t regret it, though. She grew to really like that girl.

Suddenly Melinda heard the door unlock. “Can I come in?” She asked hesitantly.

“Sure”, came Skye answer, her voice quiet and tired.

Melinda opened the door and slipped inside, her eyes immediately shooting to Skye’s figure in the dark of the room. Her eyes were red and wet from crying, her shoulders slightly shaking. She was rocking back and forth on her heels, looking at the ground and biting her lip, avoiding Melinda’s gaze.

Her heart had melt for the kid. She didn’t deserve anything that had happened to her. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Skye’s shaking form.

Skye buried her face in Melinda’s shoulder and let the tears stream down her face. Melinda stroked circles on her back and whispered something in her ear, though Skye wasn’t able to understand what it was. Was it even in English?

Slowly Skye started to calm down, and she and Melinda had moved to sit down against the wall. Melinda stroked Skye’s hair as she leaned her head against her shoulder.

“I’m sorry” whispered Skye.

“It’s alright, as long as you don’t do it again.” whispered Melinda back.

They sat like that for another few minutes until Melinda stood up said, “why wouldn’t you go take a shower until diner is ready? it shouldn’t be much longer”.

Skye nodded and stood up herself, grabbing some of the cloths they bought a few days ago. “Thank you” she mumbled quietly before walking out of the room.

Coulson was still making diner when May entered the kitchen. He looked her curiously “Where is Skye?” He asked.

“I sent her to take a shower. She’ll be fine”

Phil nods “what was this all about?”

Melinda sighs in response “she hacked SHIELD to find her parents, but then was scared because she thought we were mad at her. I promised her I would help her keep looking for information”.

She stands beside him and watch as he keeps cooking. “Are you alright?” he asks finally.  
Melinda shrugged, clearly upset “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to prove to her that she can trust me, I’m just not sure I’m capable of this”.

Phil turned around to look at her “you’ll be just fine. It’ll take time, but she’ll learn to trust you”.

Melinda kept staring at the floor, not very convinced in herself. Eventually Phil wrapped her arms around her. She was stiff at first, but returned the hug, burying her face in his neck. They stayed like that, just holding each other until the smell of something burning came into their nose.

Despite his wish to keep hugging Melinda, Phil let her go and make sure they still had something to eat for diner.

Skye stood beneath the flow of the warm water, letting it mix with her tears and wash them off.

She didn’t understand why Melinda weren’t mad. She just confronted her and promised to help her, while Skye expected her to shout or even send her back at SHIELD - where they would have dealt with her like any other powered person and would be less of a trouble.

By any of her standards, this was one of the best foster families she ever had. But again, she couldn’t help but wonder why would they be so nice?

Skye kept standing in the shower - just thinking - until a shout came from outside the door telling her that diner is ready.

She wrapped herself in a towel, and hurried to get dressed and brush her hair. While she did that, it was hard to avoid looking at the mirror.  
She stared at her reflection for a few seconds. she was so pale and thin, she thought. She must have been in the labs far longer than she’d realized.

Skye shook herself from her thoughts and walked over to the kitchen. Phil and Melinda were already sitting at the table. She sat next to Melinda, it felt safer around her, though she knew Phil wouldn’t hurt her and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

Skye didn’t talk much us they ate. Phil and Melinda were chatting about SHIELD and Christmas, and she enjoyed just listening to them.  
However, this peace hadn’t last long. Suddenly there was the sound of the front door unlock, and Melinda had stood up and grabbed her gun. Phil and Skye carefully followed her to the house’s entrance, staying in safe distance.

Before they neither Skye nor Phil could see who it was, Melinda lowered her gun and murmured something in another language, probably chinese.

“Mom”, she finally said in English “what are you doing here?”


	6. Chapter 6

“Mom?” Melinda finally asked. “What are you doing here?”

Skye looked between her and the older woman standing in the house entrance. So that was Lian May - Melinda’s mother? The one Phil is so afraid of?

“This is my house, Qiaolian. Would you mind tell me what are you and Philip doing here, or who this kid is?” she pointed at Skye, who shifted slightly in her place.

“This is Skye.” said Melinda “I’ll explain everything later, we were just eating diner. You could join us”.

They got back to diner. Skye noticed that Phil didn’t eat, but decided not to say anything.

“So…” started Skye, trying to break the awkward silence “do you have embarrassing stories about Melinda’s childhood?”

Lian laughed. Melinda glared at her. “Don’t you dare” she hissed.

That didn’t work. Lian eventually did tell a few stories about the troubles Melinda had gotten into in her academy days, much for Skye’s amusement. They all ended up talking in the kitchen, laughing and just not thinking about anything else.

“Skye,” Melinda said eventually, “It’s late, and you should go to bed”.

“Nooooo” protested Skye, trying to hide how tired she really was. “Just more ten minutes”.

Melinda chuckled “you said that half an hour ago. Bed. Now”.

Skye huffed in annoyance but had gone to her room.

Lian turned to Melinda and Phil. “What is her story, then?”

Melinda sighed. “She’s an orphan. We found her at AIM labs, being experimented. Since her only other option was going back into the system, I volunteered to take care of her”.

Lian raised her eyebrow “How did she ended up at AIM?”

Phil smiled “she hacked their computers”.

“Impressive” said Lian “how long are you going to stay?”

“Just until Christmas. Then we’ll go to my apartment, just see what happens next”.

Lian nodded. “You should go to sleep as well, Melinda. I assume Philip sleeps on the couch?”

Melinda rolled her eyes. “Mom, I’m not a kid anymore. I can decide by myself when I should go to sleep.” But as saying that, she had gone around the corner to her own room. Phil had gone to sleep on the couch, just because no one argues with Lian May.

Melinda quietly entered her brother's old room in inattention to check on Skye. She wasn’t at all surprised to find Skye sitting at the table, flipping through one of her brother’s old books.  
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” asked Melinda.

Skye shrugged, putting the book away “couldn’t sleep”.

Melinda sighed. “Not sleeping wouldn’t keep the nightmares away. Trust me”.  
“So you have some yourself?” asked Skye. When Melinda didn’t show any intention to answer, so she just bit her lip and asked, ”Can you just stay here with me for a little while?”

Melinda nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed “Sure”.

Skye smiled, looking around the room. It was simple, with a few posters and pictures that were left from Melinda’s brother, hanging on the walls. She saw one picture of a young Chinese girl, standing next to an older boy as his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Skye smiled and turned to Melinda. “Is that you?”

Melinda came to stand next to her, and then nodded. Skye couldn’t miss the sad look in her eyes. “That’s you brother, right?”

Melinda stared at the picture for a long moment. “His name was Hayden. He was a SHIELD agent, died when I was barely eighteen”.

Skye glances at her “What happened?”

Melinda just shrugged “A mission went south. Life as an agent can be dangerous - we both knew the risks”.

After that Skye figured that it might be better if she won’t say anything else in that matter. Instead she picked up a stuffed animal that was forgotten resting on the floor. She smiled softly. It was a small panda.

“Hayden gave her to me when I was younger” said Melinda as she moved back to sit on the bed. Skye sat beside her “Were you two close?”

Melinda nodded. “Our parents divorced when I was very young. Hayden was always there and knew what I was going through. For many years he was my best friend.”

Skye bit her lip “I wish I had someone like that.”

Melinda wrapped her arm around the younger girl’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, you will. But you still have to go to sleep.”

Skye groaned “I don’t want to.”

Melinda moved back so that she was now leaning against the pillows. She motioned to Skye to sit next to her and she curled up against her, closing her eyes.

Only now Skye realized how tired she really was. Her eyes closed although she tried to keep them open, and Melinda’s hand stroking her hair calmed her down. As she fell asleep she could hear Melinda murmuring some quiet melody.  
Skye managed to sleep through the whole night for the first in a long time.

In the morning, Skye found that Melinda wasn’t beside her anymore. She got out of bed and looked around her sleepily. her eyes immediately rested on the small panda lying on the nightstand beside a small piece of paper. It said ‘she’s yours now - if you want her, M’. Skye smiled and put the note in her pocket, then walked out to find food.

Melinda glanced at Phil above her cup of tea. He raised an eyebrow towards her “Are you okay? You weren’t in your room this morning”.

Melinda simply nodded. “I just fell asleep in Skye’s room.”

Phil grinned at her “That’s a good sign, right? She’s opening up to you”. He said. He was happy that the kid was opening up, but he hoped she would learn to trust him more. Until now she was always with Melinda, where she clearly felt safer. He guessed it was just easier for her to trust women.  
He saw the distant gaze in Melinda’s eyes “What is it?”

She shrugged “I don’t know. I guess I just never pictured myself as a mother. I’m not sure I’m capable of doing that”.

Phil rested his hand on her in reassurance “I am”.

They eyes locked above her cup of almost cold tea. Neither of them moved for a few minutes, until they heard footsteps coming around the corner.

Skye stepped into the kitchen, still in her pajamas. She stopped when she saw Phil and Melinda. “Am I interrupting something?” she asked with a raised eyebrow “Cause it kind of looks like I am.”

Melinda shook her head and moved away from Phil. Skye laughed “Whatever.”

The rest of the day was actually boring, or so Skye thought. Lian and Phil were cooking for Christmas, but neither Melinda nor Skye were allowed anywhere near the kitchen. The food was good, and after that Skye, Phil and Melinda watched a lot star wars movies over hot chocolate and popcorn. That’s how the three of them eventually fell asleep.

 

Melinda woke up to find herself leaning on Phil. She rubbed the sleepiness off her eyes and looked around her. Skye wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Melinda shook Phil until he woke up as well.  
“Where is Skye?” She asked him.  
“I don't know…”

“I moved her to her room” Said Lian, now standing in the entrance to the living room.  
Melinda sighed “Mom! What time is it?”

“Late. You stayed awake until after midnight”.

Phil blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes “Shouldn't kids be awake early on Christmas day?” He exchanged a worried look with Melinda, then stood up and went in the direction of Skye’s room.

 

Skye woke up as someone turned on the light in her room. How did she get to her room? She groaned and buried her face in her pillow, having no intention in getting up.

A hand shook her shoulder and when she still didn’t respond tried to grab her blanket. She struggled to keep it within her hold but didn’t manage to do so for long.

“Skye”, she heard Phil’s voice “You need to get up, It’s late”.

“Nooooo…” she murmurs back “ ‘m sleeping”.

Phil chuckled “But it’s Christmas, there are presents under the tree”.

Skye just shook her head “No, not for me”.

Although her eyes were still closed, Skye knew Phil raised his eyebrow at that “I’m pretty sure there is at least one present for you, and I’m not gonna tell you what it is. So get up.”

Skye opened her eyes in surprise “You got me a present?”

Phil nodded. “You didn’t have to-” Skye started to say but Phil cut her off by pulling her to her feet “You deserve presents on Christmas just like any other kid - if not more. Now get dressed and come to the living room, Lian said you’re the only reason we haven’t eaten breakfast yet”. With that he left the room, leaving Skye behind with a happy smile on her face.

For the first time in her life, she would have normal Christmas with almost normal family.  
She had only been with them for a few days, yes, but it already felt more real than any other foster family she had ever stayed with. She could just hope that this one would last longer than those before.

Skye got dressed and quickly brushed her hair to a loose braid before heading to the living room. She found both Phil and Melinda sitting on the couch, Phil reading a book and Melinda doing something on her laptop.

Skye looked under the tree, looking for a present with her name on it. She was surprised to find three of those. She grabbed all of them and sat between Phil and Melinda.

The first one had been a colorful drawing from Robin, and Skye smiled at the sight. She had really missed the little girl, who until not so long ago was her only friend.  
The second present was from Melinda, and Skye saw the older woman glancing at her as she opened it.

Skye eyes winded a little when she saw what was inside. It was a necklace. A beautiful one. A small glass ball hanging on a silver chain, its inside looks like the night sky, with the moon and some stars and everything.  
Skye surprised Melinda when she enveloped her in a tight hug.  
“Thank you”, she whispered “thank you so much”.

Melinda smiled and hugged Skye back “You’re very welcome. Don’t you wanna see what Phil got you? Cause I know I do”.

Skye grinned and went to open the last present. This time, it was headphones and a music player, both light blue - her favorite color.

Phil didn’t except Skye’s hug, but was very happy to get it anyway.  
“Thank you” she whispered as she pulled away. He grinned back at her “You’re welcome, kid. Now let’s go eat breakfast, I’m hungry”.

Skye smiled as they sat to eat pancakes, and listened to Melinda when she explained that in the next day they would drive to her apartment in New York.  
She was happy that she got to stay with Melinda, but she didn’t know how long it would actually last, and didn’t want any false hopes. In her fifteen years at the foster system, all the families were mostly the same. They were nice at first, she learned to trust them and felt at home, sometimes they even thought about adopting her. But then, she screwed up. One mistake and she was back at St. Agnes. She always told herself that this time it would be different, but it never was.  
Skye wished that this time it will.

Sometimes they even thought about adopting her. But then, she screwed up. One mistake, and she was back at St. Agnes. She always told herself that this time it would be different, but it never was.  
Skye wished that this time it will.


	7. School Discussions

Skye woke up to the sun creeping through the slightly open window in her room. She opened her eyes and looked around until she remembered where she was.

A few days ago she left with Melinda to her apartment in New York, and fell asleep right after the long drive. Ever since all she did was look for her parents and a lot of just nothing. Basically, she was bored out of her mind.

Skye got out of bed and stumbled towards the kitchen in purpose of finding some food, or at least something edible since Melinda was the worst cook ever. Skye assumed she could make scrambled eggs, that shouldn’t be too hard.

When she walked in, she found Melinda leaning over her laptop and reading something that was either very interesting or super important.  
She only looked up when Skye made an attempt to look over her shoulder at the screen.

Seeing Melinda’s apologizing face, Skye rolled her eyes “Super-secret organization, I know…”

Melinda sighed and looked at her “Actually, it wasn’t about SHIELD. It’s about you going to school”.

Skye stared at her. Melinda just stared back.

Then the older woman said “I don’t wanna send you into a big, public school, so I was looking for smaller ones. There’s a not too expensive private school not so far from here, which seems nice.”

Skye still didn’t say anything, and Melinda continued talking “I know that you hate school, but you could at least try… I’m sure it wouldn’t be that bad and you’ll make friends in no time”.

Skye simply shrugged. Melinda sent her a worried look “Skye? If there is a specific reason you don’t wanna go we can talk about it or…” She made a move to rest her hand on Skye’s shoulder and the girl flinched away, not daring to look at her in the eyes.

Melinda held back a sigh “Okay. Why don’t you take some time to think about it and we’ll talk again when I get back this afternoon?”

Skye nodded and moved away to start making herself something to eat, even though she wasn’t hungry anymore.  
They both ate in an uncomfortable silence, and then Melinda had to go to take care of some things at the Hub, and Skye was left alone to her thoughts.

 

May tried to listen as Fury debriefed Coulson’s team, but couldn’t really focus. She knew she should, even though she wasn’t on that mission, she will be doing all the paperwork. She saw that Coulson was glaring at her, but just couldn’t bring herself to care. Her thoughts were still with Skye.

It was clear that the girl had a serious reason to hate school, but wouldn’t talk about it. And May didn’t really have a choice but to assign her to school. She didn’t want to force her to go, what meant she was going to need to figure out what the problem is.  
And that she had no idea how to do. She wasn’t good with words.

Suddenly May felt a soft hand resting on her shoulder, and turned around to see Coulson looking at her with a concerned face. “You okay?” he asked.

She nodded “Just thinking about a talk I had with Skye this morning. She’s highly objecting to going to school. I don’t know what the problem is”.

Phil raised an eyebrow “What did she say about the matter?”

“She didn’t. She closed up; I told her we’ll talk about it when I get back.”

Phil gave her a sympathetic look “She’ll probably tell you herself. Pushing her wouldn’t do any good.”

May shrugged. “I guess. Will you be able to survive a mission without me?”

He grinned “I hope so. I’ll see you when we get back, okay?”

She nodded and forced herself to smile, then tried to leave the room but was stopped by Fury. “Sir?”

“Agent May. How’s the girl doing?”

“First of all, her name is Skye”, she snapped. “She’s getting better.”

“You’re gonna need to send her to school. You know that, right?”

May nodded “Yes sir.”

“Good. You’re dismissed for the rest of the day” and with that the director left.

May sighed, and wondered what this was about as she walked towards the base exit. As she did, she’d run into her rookie.  
“May!” Maria smiled “You weren’t here this whole week, what about training?”

May stopped herself from sighing again “Right, sorry. There is just a lot of things happening,” she gently lead her student to a close bench. “You kept training without me, yes?”

Maria nodded “Of course. Fury said you’re fostering a kid? What is this about?”

May looked at Maria. Skye was actually kind of like her. “Skye. She’s an orphan, Coulson and I found her at AIM’s labs. She was being experimented.”

Maria’s eyes winded a bit “Oh God. Is she alright? How old is she?”

May smiled at her “Slow down. She’s fifteen, and still recovering. But she’s opening up”.

Maria nodded “Can I meet her?” She asked excitedly.

May chuckled “I think it’s a bit too early. Sorry, rookie. We’re currently having a disagreement about her going to school.”

Maria’s face fallen a little “Oh. She doesn’t wanna go? Why?”

May shrugged “I have no idea. She wouldn’t talk to me, and I don’t want to push her.”

Maria shifted in her sit so that she was facing her SO. “Maybe I could talk to her? I might be able to understand.”

May bit her lip “I don’t know…”

“Oh come on… It can’t make things worse, right?”

May considered it for a moment. “Fine. You can eat dinner with us today… alright? We were gonna go out for this because neither of us can cook.”

Maria jumped from her sit “I can cook! You’re heading home now, right?”

May smiled softly at her trainee’s excitement “I guess you’re coming with me then. But that doesn’t mean you're cooking, I promised Skye Chinese food”.

 

Skye lay on her bed, her face buried in a pillow. Her headphones on her ears playing music in high volume. She tried to drown her thoughts in the loud music so she wouldn’t have to think about anything.

It was almost the usual time Melinda got home and Skye didn’t have an idea what she was gonna say, neither what she wanted to.

She didn’t hear when the front door opened nor when Melinda called her name. She only became aware of her surroundings when a soft hand was rested on her shoulder, and Skye instinctively flinched away.

She opened her eyes to see Melinda standing beside her, a look of concern on her face. Skye sighed and pulled her headphones off her ears, then noticed that they weren’t alone.

“Skye, this is Maria Hill, she’s my trainee. She’ll join us for dinner tonight”, said Melinda, nodding towards the young woman standing in the doorway. “Is that alright?”

Skye simply shrugged. Melinda sighed “Maria, could you please give us a moment?”

Maria quietly exited the room and left the two of them alone.

Skye sat on the edge of her bed, a slight frown on her face as she twirled the cable of her headphones around her finger. Melinda sat across from her, trying to figure out what to say. “I really don’t know what the problem is, Skye. I want to help you, but I honestly can’t do anything if you don’t talk to me!”

Skye slowly raised her eyes to look at her. Melinda sighed “look, I get that maybe you don’t wanna talk to me about everything, but eventually I’ll have to send you to school. I much rather do it knowing what the problem is, and I want you to know that you can talk to me”.

Skye took in a deep breath “I’m not good with talking about what I feel”.

Melinda smiled at her softly “It’s alright. I’m not good with talking about anything, but I’m getting better. We’ll try to solve this after diner, okay?”

Skye nodded and followed Melinda out of the room.

 

Diner was nice. Skye found out that Maria was nice and easy to talk to, not a cold SHIELD agent. She learned that Melinda was her SO for the past year, and that didn’t go into SHIELD in a normal way.

Now she was staring out the window while Melinda drove them back to her apartment, after dropping off Maria at her house.

“Ready to talk?” asked Melinda, pulling Skye out of her thoughts.

“I… I don’t know. I’ve never been in the same school long enough to even make friends, so…” She forced herself to start talking, just say something, anything to break that annoyingly weird silence..

Melinda glanced at her, biting her lip “How many foster homes have you been at so far?” When the girl didn’t answer she added “I don’t care how many people have rejected you in the past, Skye. I’m not going to send you away just because everyone else were stupid enough to do so.”

Skye tried to blink away the tears forming in her eyes. “My own mother didn’t want me”, she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Melinda felt her heart melt for the girl “It’s not your fault” she said softly, reaching out to squeeze Skye’s hand. “But that doesn’t mean you can change the subject. What’s the problem with school?”

Skye took in a deep breath “It’s a setup for trouble”.

Melinda glanced at her “You think I’m gonna send you away if you get in trouble at school? Not a chance, kid. You're staying with me as long as you want to.”

“But that’s what they all say!” she snapped, her eyes filling with tears. Melinda looked like she was about to say something but Skye was already continuing “They say They're never going to send me back, and I believe and I trust but all it takes is one mistake and I’m back at St. Agnes!”

For a moment Melinda didn’t say anything, but then she stopped the car at the side of the road and pulled Skye into a tight hug. Skye sobbed into her shoulder, not able to hold back the tears any longer “I want this to be real” she sobbed “But I’m scared to mess up and being sent back”.  
Melinda shushed her, stroking her hair “It’s okay. No one’s sending you anywhere”.

Suddenly Skye pulled back “But that fostering thing was just for my protection - because of my powers”. She argued.

Melinda thought about it for a second “Not really. It was just an excuse for not sending you back to St. Agnes. And now it’s even more. So unless you don’t want to, you’re staying with me”.

Skye gave her half a smile full of tears then hugged her tight. Melinda embraced her and placed a kiss at the top of her head.

Skye was her kid. Not biological, but still.  
And as weird as it was to think about it, that was it.  
It scared her a little, but that wasn’t something she could deny.  
Skye was her daughter.


	8. First Day

Skye looked nervously outside the car’s window, tapping her fingers on her knee in some random rhythm.

It was the first day of school. A new school, ninth grade.  
Skye was more nervous than she would admit, but it seemed like Melinda didn’t need her to.

She glanced at the girl in the sit next to her, knowing exactly how nervous she was. She sighed “It would be alright, Skye. It’ll be over before you notice and I’ll come pick you up at the end of the day”.

Skye didn’t answer. She was still staring outside the window at the crowded high school building.

“Skye-” Melinda said again, and she finally turned to look at her. “What if I panic and things would start shaking?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“You’re perfectly capable of calming yourself down. You’ll be fine”.  
Skye just shot her a doubtful look.

Melinda rolled her eyes then handed her what looked like a bracelet. “There. I was planning on giving it to you tonight but you can have it now. It’s a heart monitor, put it on your wrist and try to keep it stable under seventy”.

Skye stared at her for a moment, and then leaned forward to give her a short hug. “Thank you - for everything. I’ll see you later. We’re eating outside today, right? Why don’t we invite Phil…? bye” She murmured before grabbing her bag and getting out of the car.

Melinda smiled after her. She’ll be just fine. Right?  
She shook herself. Of course she would. She really shouldn’t worry so much. And she asked her to invite Phil for diner, which probably meant she was starting to open up. Or trying to push them together.

That’s what Melinda kept telling herself for the rest of the day, but she just couldn’t concentrate on anything. Even training didn’t help.

 

Skye looked at her schedule, trying to understand where was her first class - math. God, she hated math. Why couldn’t the first class be something else - Anything else?

She turned left on the corridor and collided with someone else, the book and schedule she was holding dropping to the floor. She saw that the other person dropped a few books as well.

“I’m so sorry” she murmured “Should have looked where I was going”.

“No, that’s alright. Totally my fault”. Skye looked up to see a tall black teenage boy, smiling apologetically at her. She forced herself to smile back despite how nervous she was.

He picked up her book and handed it to her. “Hey, you’re new?”

Skye nodded “First day. I’m kind of lost, though”.

“Oh. What’s your first class?”

“Hmm…” Skye glanced at her schedule “Math. Room B2?”

“I’m just on my way there. I can show you”.

Skye sighed in relief. At least that. “I’m Skye”, she said.

The other student raised his eyebrow “It’s a nice name. I’m Trip”, he held out his hand to. She shakes it, and then followed Trip to math class.

Math class turned out to be incredibly boring. Skye sat beside Trip, who was very friendly and tried to help her as much as he could. Still, she almost fell asleep before the bell rang.  
She did her best to concentrate at the next classes, but didn’t always succeed. She just couldn’t stop looking down at her heart monitor, though it was pretty stable.

And then there was lunch.

Skye always hated eating in the cafeteria at school. It was crowded and noisy and if you sat at the wrong place you might get in trouble.

She sighed in relief as she spotted a mostly empty table. She sat at the end and took out the food Melinda gave her because ‘cafeteria food sucks’. As she did, she saw the other girl at the table glancing up at her from the book she was reading.

Well, that’s odd. The girl looked young. Probably not older than thirteen.  
She probably saw Skye’s confused expression because she sighed and said “Yes, I’m only thirteen. I just skipped a few classes because the classes at middle school were too easy for me.”

“Oh, okay”. Skye nodded.

The girl tilted her head slightly to the right “You’re new?”

Skye nodded “Skye”.

“I’m Hope. Hope Mackenzie. So how’s your first day so far?” Hope asked.

Skye almost smiled from relief. Starting a conversation was a good thing; maybe she’ll even make friends. “It’s… stressful.”

Hope chuckled “Yeah, I can kind of see that”. Seeing Skye questioning look she added “Your hands are trembling”.

Skye looked at her hands and saw that Hope was right. She checked her heart monitor - still stable.  
Hope leaned forward in curiosity “What’s that?”

“Just something Mel- my mother gave me” Skye said. It wasn’t completely a lie, was it? After all, Melinda was kind of her mother. At least… Skye hoped she was. But if she’ll admit it to herself she might slip up in front of her. What if she doesn’t feel that way? What if Skye was just another mission, despite what Melinda said?

“Skye?” Hope’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts “You alright?”

Skye forced a smile to her lips “Yes, just thinking”.

Hope raised an eyebrow. “Whatever, Tremors”.

Then the bell rang. “Oh look, we have to go back to class. What do you have? Maybe we’re in the same class”.

Skye and Hope compared their schedules and found out that they had a lot of classes together. Including physics. Skye sucked at Physics, but Hope was better than everyone else so she helped Skye a little. But most of the classes were still incredibly boring, on that Skye and Hope could definitely agree. But it was less boring when they sat together and talked about how boring it was… and about other things as well.

At the end of the day, Skye found Melinda waiting for her by the gates. “Well? Was it that bad?”

Skye shrugged, not ready to admit that it wasn’t. Melinda just laughed “Whatever, kid. Did you make friends?”

Skye took a moment to think about it “Maybe. I’m not sure yet”. She said with a slight smile.


	9. Mom

It was a few weeks since Skye had first came to live with Melinda.   
She got in the car after a long day at school and sighed deeply.  
Melinda glanced at her “Long day?”

Skye nodded and leaned back in her seat. “We had two hours of maths. It was a nightmare”.

Melinda smiled in sympathy and started driving. After a few minutes, she said “So… remember when you first came to live with me and I took a break from field work?”

Skye opened her eyes to look at her, and Melinda knew that she now had the kid’s full attention.  
“So tomorrow I’m going on a mission. It’s not something dangerous, they need me mostly to fly the plane. I’ll be back the morning after tomorrow, so Phil will be staying with you until then.” She paused “That’s alright?”

Skye nodded and forced herself to smile “Sure”.  
But she was still kinda nervous. True, she liked Phil, but whenever they spent time together, Melinda was there as well. This was a little different.

Melinda raised an eyebrow. Skye chuckled and rolled her eyes “I’ll be fine, mom.” 

It took her a moment to realize what she just said. She bit down on her lower lip, “I’m- I’m sorry.” She mumbled “I just slipped- I-”

It took Melinda a second to realize what Skye was talking about. The kid calling her ‘mom’ caught her a little bit by surprise, but still felt somewhat natural. She smiled softly “You don’t have to apologize, Skye. I really don’t mind you calling me that. It’s a good thing, really”.

Skye blinked in surprise, “You don’t?”

When Melinda nodded in reassurance, she smiled in relief.

It felt good, calling someone ‘mom’ and meaning it, knowing that she looked at her as a daughter. It made her forget all the times she said it and got sent away, feel like she had a seemingly real family.

She prayed silently it would stay that way.

The next morning Skye woke up on her own, much earlier than she intended.

If it was because of a bad dream, she couldn’t remember what it was. So she got up of bed and strolled into the kitchen, where it was still dark. It was incredibly early.

After a minute of looking around, realizing as she wasn’t at all hungry, she went towards Melinda’s bedroom. It seemed like she was still sleeping.

Skye hesitated outside the door, then opened it carefully. She flinched at the creaking sound it made. It seemed to wake Melinda up.

Skye froze in the doorway. She could see Melinda’s half sitting form in the bed, but couldn’t decide if to come in or go back to her room.

She just stood there, until Melinda, still a little sleepy, said “Are you gonna come in or what?”  
Skye breathe in relief and strolled into the room. Melinda pulled back the covers and she instantly curled up to a ball beside her.

Soon enough she found herself calm again, almost sleepy with Melinda’s arms wrapped around her and her fingers stroking her hair. 

“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked softly, and Skye only nodded. From there it was easy to drift back to sleep.

When she woke though, Melinda was no longer beside her.

Skye sat up and looked around the room. It was morning, the light could tell her that.  
She walked out of the room and into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes to try and shake off the sleepiness.

“Mom?” she called, then paused “Melinda?”

“I’ll be right there!” came the answer from the other room. Skye slumped in a chair and made herself a bowl of cereal.

It all felt weirdly normal. Just a normal morning in a normal family.

She smiled slightly at the thought. Normal was good.

A moment later Melinda came into the kitchen, wearing the same black suit as she did the day she had first found Skye.

“You remember Phil will be picking you up from school, right?”

Skye nodded, mouth too full to speak.

“I’ll be back tomorrow, and you can call me if you need anything, and Maria is always available, and I’m sure Phil can handle whatever…” she paused as she noticed the pointed look Skye was giving her “What?”

The kid smiled up at her “You’re being an overprotective mother. Relax. I can handle a day without you”

Melinda sighed deeply and sat down in front of her. “You’re right. You can handle it.”  
She looked at her wrist watch, frowning “Will it be okay for you to take the bus to school today? If I don’t leave now I’m gonna be late”.

Skye nodded “Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow”.

Melinda smiled in relief before getting up and placing a kiss on the top of Skye’s head, then hurrying to take her bags and leave.

And Skye was left all alone.

This time, though, it didn’t bother her.

In the silence, her attention was caught by Melinda’s laptop, resting on the table across from her.

Sneaking a look around, Skye reached a hand and pulled it towards her. She opened it and brought up the search she had started the day before. It should have been completed by then.

She was going through SHIELD’s archives, (with Melinda’s permission, of course) to try and find more information about her parents. Her biggest clue yet was the woman who dropped her off at the orphanage, whose name turned out to be Agent Linda Avery.

From there it was easy to find her address. Skye scribbled it down on a piece of paper and closed the laptop.

Then she hurried to get ready, although she had no intention of going to school.

No, she was going to look for her parents.


	10. Origin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated on time!  
> mostly because after that trailer I can’t think of anything but AoS, so…
> 
> Please review, it really helps with motivating me to keep writing.  
> If you have a prompt or an idea for me, or just want or talk AoS in general… You’re welcome to message me!

It takes a while for Skye to find the place she’s looking for, having to navigate through a strange city. But still, she managed to get to the address of Agent Linda Avery.

As she stood there, staring at the door of a woman who might just be her mother, she can’t help but wonder whether someone at school had noticed she was gone.  
Have they called Malinda? Would she come looking for her?

Skye was almost certain she knew the answer for that, but she pushed the thought out of her head and knocked on the door.

There was no response, so she knocked again. This time she could hear movement from inside. She tensed, waiting. It sounded like someone was stumbling to get things cleaned up in a hurry.

Skye narrowed her eyes and raised her hand to knock again, just as the door swung open and a pair of blue eyes looked out at her.

Skye swallowed “Umm… Agent Linda Avery?”

The woman stared at her suspiciously “Yes?”

“May I come in, please?”

Avery didn’t move, only lifted an eyebrow. Skye took in a deep breath before explaining. “Fourteen years ago you dropped off a baby girl at St. Agnes orphanage. That was me. And I have questions”.

She watched as understanding overcame the woman’s features, and she rushed Skye in.

She seemed highly alert, like she was expecting to open the door to a deadly assassin, not a teenage years old girl. She locked the door behind Skye and lead her to the living room, then disappeared into the kitchen.

Skye took the chance to look around, but still kept her guard up for anything unusual.

Everything seemed to be unusual in this place, though.

There wasn’t much furniture. The couch Skye was sitting on, the one on opposite of it, a coffee table, and a small tv. She could see absolutely no personal items.

But soon enough Avery came back with two cups of tea. She handed one to Skye and sat down in front of her. Skye stared at her.

Avery sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Okay, kid. What’s your name?”

“Skye.”

Avery leaned forward a little “Skye, I’m not sure what you expected to find by coming here, I don’t even know how you knew to come here, but I’m not your mother. And I don’t know who your parents are. I’m sorry, I really wish I could tell you more”.

Skye nodded, biting down on her lower lip. She blinked fast to force the tears away from her eyes. So Linda Avery wasn’t her mother. But she must still know something, right?  
“How come you have dropped me off at St. agnes, then?”

Avery let out a breath of what might have been relief. “That’s a really long story. Shouldn’t you be in school, anyway?”

Skye shrugged, and Avery sighed once again. “Do you mind telling me who are you currently staying with?”

“Melinda May.” said Skye after a short hesitation “she’s a SHIELD agent, like you. Do you know her?”

Avery nodded shortly “We went on a few missions together”. she took a long sip of her tea “Where would you like me to start, then?”

“How about the beginning?”

And she told her the whole story. Everything she could remember.  
By the time she finished Skye was in tears.

Because so many people had died trying to protect her; because she was an 084; because she now knew that a lot of the times she was sent back to the orphanage was not actually because a family didn’t want her, but because of Avery’s protocol, keeping her safe from god knows what.

 

Phil was doing paperwork. Again. Because he might be a trained spy working for a super secret organization, but there was still just so much paperwork.

So he was grateful when his phone rang. Then he glanced at the caller’s ID, and a frown started to form between his brows. It was Melinda. And she was supposed to be on a mission.

“Melinda?”

“I just got a call from Skye’s school”, she responded. “She’s not there.”

She sounded panicked. Which was a thing Phil barely ever got to hear. 

Melinda was fearless.

But, Phil guessed, being worried was part of the job description of being a parent.

“I’ll find her,” he said instantly, without having the faintest idea how he was going to do so.

He could hear Melinda breathing deeply on the other side of the line. “-Just… just make sure she’s face. she’s my daughter. I can’t- I can’t lose her”. she whispered.

Phil nodded, and promised her again that it’ll be okay, he’ll find Skye, she should focus on the mission. Then he hanged up and stared at the mountains of paperwork that still needed to be done, and looked away because Skye was way more important than paperwork, and tried to think of the best course of action.

He eventually decided to go to Melinda’s apartment, ‘cause maybe there would be a clue to where Skye could be. but he didn’t get far before is phone rang once again, only this time he didn’t recognize the caller’s ID. He took the call after a short hesitation.

“Phil?” asked a voice he recognized immediately.

“Skye? Thank god, where the hell are you?! Are you okay?”

He could hear her swallowing thickly. She sounded off. Like she had been crying.

“Could you… could you come and get me, please? I’m at Linda Avery’s house”. She gave him the address and he decided to ask questions later, and promised he’d get there as soon as possible. And he texted Melinda to let her know Skye was alright.

When he got there, avery immediately directed him to the living room where Skye was sitting on the couch, her knees pulled up and tucked beneath her chin.

Phil bent down in front of her, noting the tracks of tears on the kid’s face. Something was definitely off.

“What happened?” he asked quietly.

Skye sniffled “I wanted to find my parents, but-” another tear rolled down her face “It’s worse than anything I could’ve ever imagined”.

Phil reached out carefully, touching the side of her face and wiping her tears with his thumb “It will be alright. What happened with your parents doesn’t define who you are.”

Skye nodded and sniffled again. she gave him a wet smile and half a hug, then let him take her home. He thanked Avery and made and they said they’d talk later.

Skye didn’t completely stop crying, though. Phil didn’t know what she found out, and he didn’t want to push her. He talked on the way to Melinda’s apartment, trying to sooth her the best he could.

He really hoped it helped.  
And maybe it did, because by the time they got home she was holding his hand.


	11. Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I haven’t updated in a really long time, I’m sorry… but now I have lots of free time and a will to write so hopefully there’ll be another chapter coming up soon.
> 
> This is short but emotional.
> 
> And thank you for all the reviews\comments! I haven’t really decided what I’ll like to happen next, so PM me if you have any suggestions!

May couldn’t focus on her mission. She tried, but it was practically impossible to think about anything without knowing Skye was safe.  
And by the time Phil had called to tell her he found the girl she was already on her way home.

It was late when she got there.

She found Phil working in the kitchen, and when she went into Skye’s room the lights were out and her eyes were closed, fast asleep.

Melinda went back to the kitchen and collapsed into a chair.

“What happened?” she asked Phil.

He took a deep breath before replying. “She went looking for her birth parents.”

Melinda’s mind was swirling with emotions, but her face was as stoic as ever.

“She tracked down linda Avery, the agent who dropped her off at the orphanage. But she wasn’t her mother. And it turns out, a lot of agents died protecting Skye when she was a baby”.

May still hadn’t spoke. Or looked at him. Phil waited.

“She called me mom yesterday”, she eventually said, voice barely above a whisper.

Phil was stunned for a second, and by the time he recovered Melinda already went on asking if Skye was okay.  
He figured it might be best to just drop it for now.

He offered to stay, to which Melinda seemed hesitant but grateful.

Later, he went by Skye’s room and saw that the door was slightly open. He picked inside and saw Skye was sleeping with her back to the door.

Which didn’t make sense.

Weeks ago, Melinda told him Skye never slept with her back to the door. She was worried it might had to do with something that happened at a previous foster home.

Phil sighed “You’re not asleep, are you?”

After a second, Skye rolled over to look at him. But she didn’t say anything, just turned on the light. It was clear she’d been crying.

“Can I come in?”

She nodded.

Phil stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Skye sat up on the bed and leaned back against the wall. Phil sat down next to her. “You need to talk to Melinda”.

“I don’t really feel like talking right now”, she whispered. Phil could barely hear her.

“Not now. But soon.” he paused. “You called her ‘mom’, then ran away to look for your birth parents”.

Slowly, Skye looked up.

She looked as if she was about to start crying once again.  
“But… I didn’t, she didn’t… She didn’t seem that upset.”

“Melinda… has a habit of hiding her emotions. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel anything.” he paused for a second “She really loves you.”

Now there were tears running down Skye’s cheeks. “I didn’t mean to hurt her”, she whispered.

Phil sighed and put a comforting hand on her shoulder “You should tell her that.”

_________________________________

Skye tried to sleep. She was tired, exhausted, but still couldn’t seem to fall asleep.  
She gave up and got out of bed, slowly making her way to the living room.

She found Phil there, asleep on the couch. The house was dark and silent.

Carefully and without turning the light on, she walked to Melinda’s room where the door was slightly open and she could see there was still light inside.

She hesitated.

“You can come in,” came Melinda’s voice, and SAkye stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

Melinda was sitting up in her bed, working on her laptop. She closed it and put it aside as Skye came in. She didn’t say anything. Skye sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to make sense of all the words running around in her head.

She took a deep breath. “I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” She stopped to take another breath, considering her words. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.’

At that Melinda looked up. “No, Skye you didn’t-”

But Skye shook her head. “I ran away because I was starting to feel at home here. And that scared me.” Tears started to slide down her face “Cause every time I fell at home somewhere, everytime I call someone ‘mom’, it’s not long before I’m being sent back. And my birth parents are supposed to be permanent. They’re not supposed to send me back, or abandon me”, she breathed in, trying to stop crying. “But they did. And I don’t care, I don’t care why. I want to stay here with you, but…” a sob broke through her, and all Melinda wanted was to wrap in a hug.

“...Please don’t send me back”.

Melinda felt a single tear slid down her cheek, and moved forward to wrap her arms around Skye, holding her close as she cried. And Skye clung to her as if her life depended on it.

“I am not, ever, going to send you back”, Melinda whispered softly. “And I’m not angry that you ran away… you just scared the hell out of me. But I guess that’s what’s it like being a mom.” She felt Skye’s arms tighten around her. “I love you, and nothing you can do will ever make me send you back. I promise.”

Skye sniffled and let out a shaky breath “Love you too”, she mumbled.


End file.
